Tag Archives: subplot

It’s no big surprise that I am still struggling with the middle of my WIP. It seems no matter where I go with it, I dislike it, scrap it, then write something else (usually some maudlin poetry) just to keep the fires lit. This vicious cycle has gone on for a few months now. Needless to say, I am tired of it.

Being the determined person that I am, though, I refuse to give up. I’m fully invested int his project and I cannot just let it go. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and reading and I think I may have come up with a solution. I generally write in a linear fashion, creating the manuscript as I go. (Even though I have already know the ending, I haven’t written it yet. It’s only documented in long-hand notes.) I do this because it gives me a sense of clarity. One day, I discovered this nice little feature of Scrivener which I never fully utilized before: You can write out a chapter entirely in scenes. Okay, admittedly, I have paid more attention to the writing than the finer points of the software I use, but that’s for another post.

This nifty feature, when selected in the compilation, will print the scenes in the chapter AND it allows for easy reorganizing. Earlier this week, while rewriting a recent scene, the lightbulb went on: write the plot lines separately, then worry about weaving them together later! What I’ve come up with is simple. I created a folder called Plots. Within this folder are the sub folders containing the main plot and the subplots. Within those will be the scenes that formulate the individual plot lines.

I think, after all is written out, these scenes can be moved into chapters and weaved together more effectively. I can also fine tune each plot without having to search for it within the chapters. I’m hoping that this approach will offer me the clarity I need to survive the middle of my WIP and bring the project to fruition.

I have high hopes that this will get me back on track! I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve been working on my novel this week. Yay!! It feels really great to be writing and getting so much done. However, it can be very frustrating writing 2 or 3 plot lines that must somehow coincide and be resolved at the end of the story. This frustration likely stems from me fighting with myself. But it is still very real.

I start writing about the main characters and forget that I have a couple of subplots going that are important to the story. Then I feel like I am back-tracking when I focus on writing the subplots. I know they are necessary to further the story and create a more rich novel. But I feel like I will never move forward. This feeling is ridiculous, of course, because each word written furthers the storyline. Nevertheless, I feel that way.

So, I thought about writing each plot line separately, then weaving them together. Not wanting to spend too much time on it if it is a crazy idea, I still thought it might be worth a try. Well, let me tell you, as soon as I started that tack, I knew I shouldn’t. There’s way too much to remember and trying to weave them together after the fact would be even more frustrating. These plot lines happen concurrently, so writing them separately is foolish.

I will just have to realize that, as frustrating as it might be, I am not losing ground when I return to a chapter or scene and add in subplot storyline. Either that, or I will have to learn to write the plotlines concurrently. Truth is, this experience of writing my first novel is a major learning experience. And, overall, I am having so much fun doing it.